Arizona State University's Hispanic Convocation, Pizza, and Casino Time!

My thank-you note that was read aloud by the Master of Ceremony: "I want to thank my family and friends for all of their support  - especially my grandparents, parents and husband. I am blessed to have you all here."

ASU Hispanic Convocation 2012

Ceremonies that starts off with, "Please turn off your Pitbull ringtones before we begin" automatically let you know that boredom will not be an option.

When I graduated with my Bachelor's from UC Irvine, I did not attend the Hispanic convocation ceremony and it was a mistake.  I can now proudly say that this past Saturday, Cinco De Mayo, I attended my first special interest graduation! Aside from the tip of my high heel getting stuck between a crack in the concrete and falling on my butt in front of my fellow graduates, the event went smoothly.

Hispanic convocations are now a must for me in any of my future graduation ceremonies. My family and friends seemed to really enjoy the speeches and mariachi music, but the most important difference between the Hispanic convocation and a traditional ceremony for me, was the ability to invite as many people as I wanted. As the first person in my family to pursue a higher education, having the chance to thank my family and friends publicly for all of their support was priceless.

Success does not come single-handed and I will be the first to proclaim that I am able to pursue my dreams as a result of my support network. In order to thank everybody who came out to Arizona, my father treated us all to dinner.

                                        

I'm so lucky to have my grandparents!

My Husband

Family and friends at my graduation

We did not opt for Mexican food. The only downfall to graduating on Cinco De Mayo is the fact that all Mexican restaurants were over packed with patrons celebrating the tequila embraced holiday. I must say that the pizza, pasta and salad that we ate still hit the spot and left no room for disappointment.

If you thought the night ended at dinner...then you don't know my grandma. As soon as I finished opening my presents, my grandmother began tugging at my arm and whispered, "Are we still going to the casino?"  I whispered back, "Of course." So that is how we ended the night, at a casino and it was perfect.

Enjoying Our Night Cap

We danced to Journey's "Don't Stop Believing", watched my bestie Alina play black jack, and had a night cap.

Time spent with friends and family flew by quickly and I soon felt myself feeling like a modern day Cinderella. The clock hit 1 AM rather than 12 and we were back in the car and heading toward our apartment. My special day had come to a close and it was nothing less than perfect.

Saturday, Being Latina was less complicated.

Unlike Cinderella, I kept my prince!

If you look closely, you can see my name!